Cogent Automation

What Cogent Automation does

Cogent Automation Ltd is a privately-held, founder-owned engineering consultancy headquartered at St John's Innovation Centre in Cambridge, United Kingdom. The company designs and delivers high-integrity industrial automation and process control solutions — including PLC, HMI, SCADA and Safety Instrumented Systems — for clients in utilities, manufacturing, refining, oil and gas, food and drink, infrastructure, chemicals, agriculture, environmental abatement, and OEM machinery. Its offering is structured around six interconnected service lines: automation consultancy (URS/FDS/SDS, HAZOP, LOPA, FMEA studies), software engineering across major PLC and SCADA platforms (Allen Bradley, Siemens, Omron, Mitsubishi, Wonderware, Inductive Automation Ignition), electrical and instrumentation engineering, functional safety and machinery safety engineering compliant with IEC 61508/61511 and related standards, project and supplier management, and post-commissioning support including training, maintenance, and hardware distribution. The firm holds TÜV Functional Safety Professional certification and ISO 9001:2015 (UKAS-accredited) and is a Solutions Partner with Omron and a partner of Inductive Automation. (Note: firmographics lists year_founded as 2007, while other sources state 1980; the 1980 date is consistent with the company's stated 40+ years of partner experience.)

Name

Cogent Automation

Legal name

Cogent Automation Ltd

Website

https://cogent.ltd

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cogent Automation Ltd is a Cambridge, UK-based industrial automation consultancy designing PLC, HMI, SCADA and functional safety systems for utilities, manufacturing, refining and infrastructure clients across multiple sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Automation Services

NAICS

Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables (334513), Machinery Manufacturing (333)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Misc Industrial & Commercial Machinery & Equipment (3590)

akta.pro primary industry

Control System Integration & Engineering Services (Design, Commissioning, Retrofits) (IMAGABAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industrial Automation Software (SCADA, HMI, MES, Historian) (IMAHAHAJ), Process & Batch Control Software (Recipe Management, ISA-88) (IMAGABAH)

Keywords

• Industrial process automation
• PLC SCADA development
• Functional safety engineering
• Electrical instrumentation engineering
• Automation consultancy services

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Automation Consultancy and Engineering Services: Project-based engineering and consultancy services including specification development, system architecture design, and HAZOP, LOPA, FMEA studies. Billed through project engagements with defined scopes.
2. Post-Commissioning Support and Hardware Distribution: Ongoing maintenance, breakdown support, training, and hardware supply. Can include service contracts (regular servicing, calibration) and out-of-hours support arrangements.
3. Service Tier Contracts: Tiered service offerings (Gold, Silver, Bronze, Core, Advisory) providing different levels of support and engagement from full EC&I function outsourcing to specific project delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Cogent Automation designs and delivers high-integrity industrial process automation solutions, including PLC, HMI, SCADA, batching, trending and reporting software engineering, electrical and instrumentation engineering, and functional/machinery safety engineering. Services cover the full project lifecycle from automation consultancy (URS/FDS/SDS development, HAZOP/LOPA/FMEA studies) through to on-site commissioning, post-commissioning support, training, maintenance, calibrations, and hardware distribution for utilities, manufacturing, refining, and service industries.

Product overview

Cogent Automation provides industrial automation and process control solutions as a portfolio of interconnected engineering services rather than a single unified software platform. The core offering consists of six integrated service areas: Automation Consultancy (specification development and hazard studies), Software Engineering (PLC/HMI/SCADA development across major platforms including Allen Bradley, Siemens, Omron, Wonderware, and Inductive Automation Ignition), Electrical & Instrumentation Engineering (power systems, fieldbus, control panels, MCCs), Functional Safety & Machinery Safety Engineering (IEC 61508/61511 compliant safety systems), Project and Supplier Management (procurement and subcontractor oversight), and Post Commissioning Support with hardware distribution. These services are designed to work together across the project lifecycle from initial specification through to ongoing maintenance, with TÜV-certified functional safety professionals available throughout. The company operates on tiered service models (Gold, Silver, Bronze, Core, Advisory) allowing customers to outsource their full EC&I function or engage specific services as needed.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Automation Consultancy Engineering and consulting services including development of project URS, FDS, SDS and system architecture documents, plus consultancy for HAZOP, LOPA and FMEA studies. Cogent assumes sole source of responsibility for system performance. Targeted at industrial process operators and manufacturers requiring expert automation specification and hazard analysis support.
• Software Engineering Generation of PLC, HMI, SCADA, Batching, Trending and Reporting Systems. Supports Allen Bradley (MicroLogix, CompactLogix, ControlLogix), Siemens (S5, S7, TIA portal), Omron (CPL, CPM, CS, CJ, NJ, NX), Mitsubishi, GE Fanuc, Honeywell, Red Lion platforms, plus Wonderware Factory Suite (InTouch, InBatch, InSQL) and Inductive Automation Ignition. Targeted at industrial operators requiring multi-platform control software development.
• Electrical & Instrumentation Engineering Complete electrical and instrumentation engineering including power circuit design, field bus cable systems, containment installation, and industrial control panels from junction boxes to motor control centres (MCCs), plus specification, design and commissioning of process instrumentation for analytical measurement of pressure, temperature, level, flow, pH, REDOX, conductivity, turbidity, molarity and acceleration. Targeted at industrial facilities and process plants.
• Functional Safety & Machinery Safety Engineering Full lifecycle engineering for Safety Instrumented Systems and Machinery Safety Related Control Systems from hazard identification to operational protection schemes. Services compliant with IEC 61508, IEC 61511, EN ISO 12100, IEC 62061, and EN ISO 13849-1. Delivered by TUV-certified Functional Safety Professionals. Targeted at operators of safety-critical process and machinery systems.
• Project and Supplier Management Project management services covering bid package development, tender analysis, procurement, and subcontractor management for automation projects. Targeted at clients executing EC&I capital turnkey projects, plant modifications, PLC upgrades and large-scale process automation rollouts.
• Post Commissioning Support & Hardware Distribution Post-commissioning services including training, breakdown support, maintenance, instrument calibrations, planned preventative maintenance (PPM) visits, and hardware distribution. Includes service contracts with regular servicing and calibration, plus out-of-hours support arrangements. Targeted at clients requiring ongoing lifecycle support for installed automation assets.

Quantifiable outcome

• Replaced legacy Allen Bradley installation of two PLC5s and DH+ RSView station with single Omron PLC processor and new InTouch application during short production outage
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Inductive AutomationcoreTechnology or IntegrationInductive Automation is the developer of the Ignition SCADA platform. Cogent Automation works with Ignition for HMI, SCADA, and reporting systems development. Their partnership is displayed as part of the company's technology stack capabilities.
• Omron Industrial AutomationcoreTechnology or IntegrationOmron Solutions Partner status. Cogent Automation specialises in Omron PLC platforms (CPL, CPM, CS, CJ, NJ, NX series controllers) and HMIs (NT, NS, NB, NA series) including the new Sysmac platform. Omron PLC was used in Johnson Matthey control system replacement.
• TUV SUDcoreTechnology or IntegrationTUV Functional Safety Certification Program (FSCP) member with certified Functional Safety Professionals on staff. TUV SUD approved status for functional safety certification services. TUV is internationally recognised testing and certification authority on Functional Safety.
• AvettaminorOthersAvetta member - a supplier management and contractor pre-qualification organisation that provides vetted supplier lists for enterprise clients.
• UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service)coreTechnology or IntegrationUKAS ISO 9001:2015 quality management system certification. UKAS is the national accreditation body for the United Kingdom, providing accreditation services to verify company competency.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Boulting Technology: UK systems integrator delivering electrical, control and instrumentation engineering across water, power, pharma and manufacturing — closely comparable service stack and customer verticals.
• ATS Global: Industrial automation and MES/SCADA systems integrator serving manufacturing and process industries across Europe; comparable multi-platform integration scope and OT/IT convergence focus.
• Capula (Wood Group): Long-established UK control systems and functional safety integrator with deep OT heritage in nuclear, utilities and process industries; similar safety/automation focus but larger scale.
• Optimal Industrial Automation: UK-based independent control systems integrator offering PLC, SCADA, HMI and functional safety services across process industries; directly comparable in size, geography and service portfolio to Cogent.

Broad incumbents

• Emerson Automation Solutions: Process automation and DeltaV DCS vendor serving refining, chemicals and life sciences; broad incumbent that competes with Cogent on control system modernisation and functional safety projects.
• Mitsubishi Electric Factory Automation: Large PLC, HMI and SCADA vendor whose automation platform Cogent engineers deploy; broad incumbent offering overlapping capabilities as part of a much wider industrial portfolio.
• Siemens Digital Industries: Global automation incumbent with PLC (S7/TIA Portal), SCADA, drives, and functional safety offerings; Cogent specifies Siemens platforms while competing with it for integration scope.
• Honeywell Process Solutions: Process automation incumbent across refining, chemicals and utilities — its Experion DCS and Safety Manager platforms overlap directly with Cogent's PLC/SCADA/SIS delivery scope.
• Rockwell Automation: Dominant Allen Bradley PLC vendor whose installed base Cogent often replaces or upgrades; broad incumbent with overlapping lifecycle services and a global integrator partner network.
• ABB Industrial Automation: Global process automation incumbent offering PLC/DCS, instrumentation and functional safety services; competes with Cogent for control system replacement and safety work in chemicals and utilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cogent Automation